Thank you Lollygagger for recommending this book, because I absolutely loved it. It reminded me a lot of Mary Roach, as well as Unmentionable and the one about the plagues. Basically, I’m loving this genre of informative and entertaining nonfiction. I mean, I love a good Eric Larson book. But lately these more humorous takes on history and medicine have really become a lot of fun for me to read. So the author of If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a […]
Mary Roach is a never ending delight, but this was not my book.
You guys, I love Mary Roach books. I think she is a delightful author and I really enjoy her perspective on the world. Her Packing for Mars is one of my comfort books; I have read it several times, and I recommend her books to everyone. I did not love this book like I have loved her others, and I have struggled a bit to write this review. This book is entered around war, and the science surrounding trying to keep soldier safe, healthy and […]
Fuck Cancer: The Biography of Our Nemesis
So obviously we all hate cancer, which is as controversial an opinion as saying puppies are cute, but considering that this post is going up on a site honoring one of our own lost to the disease, this review feels a bit like critiquing a biography of Lex Luthor for the Daily Planet. Thait said, let me adjust my robes and address the choir. The subtitle of the book is “a biography of cancer,” and it aims to follow the disease and its treatments from […]
“If you take nothing else away from this book, I hope it’s that sick people are not villains. They are unwell. It’s impossible to say this enough.”
I really enjoyed Wright’s It Ended Badly and I’ve read several book on the subjects covered in Get Well Soon (like Smallpox, Rosemary Kennedy’s lobotomy and Oliver Sacks) so this seemed like a natural Must Read. Vaccination is one of the best things that has happened to civilization. Empires toppled like sandcastles in the wake of diseases we do not give a second thought to today. If taking a moment to elaborate on that point will make this book unpopular with a large group of antivaxxers, that’s okay. This feels […]
Shark Repellent Was Designed to Act as a Placebo
The past few years I have been working slowly but surely through the works of Mary Roach. I find her style to be intoxicating, even if her subjects seem a little outside my own personal interests. When announced that her latest book would be about the science of war I was immediately wondering how her light-hearted and comedy heavy style would work with this subject. Once I realized that she was, as usual, going to focus on the weird eddies of science and discovery. In […]
My modern Italian feast experiment
After a year back in town, I finally sorted out my LAPL library card privileges. Much to my surprise, the Highland Park branch has a very extensive cookbook selection. I LOVE Italian food and culture, even minored in Italian at USC. As such, I immediately snagged the Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites off the shelf. I was never a big fan of her Food Network cooking show, but I do own a very nice skillet from her Target line. 🙂 The book is organized into the following sections: appetizers […]
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